Nokia Aims Directly At Apple And Google With “The Smartphone Beta Test” Ad Spots

Matt Burns

Matt is a Senior Editor at TechCrunch. Matt Burns is a family man first and attempts to be a writer second. Born and raised in the heart of the automotive world, only cars eclipse his love of gadgets. He previously wrote for Engadget and EngadgetHD before moving into the party house that is TechCrunch. He learned the retail side of... → Learn More

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

It’s on like Donkey Kong. Nokia is back and ready to take on the big dogs. Several Nokia TV adverts started airing last night that don’t dance around the prime targets. Nope, Nokia’s latest ad campaign, The Smartphone Beta Test, is a clever but very direct shot at Apple and Google.

The campaign uses three videos (one above, two after below) with so-called behind the scenes footage showing a nondescript work space where three random workers are vetting issues about their upcoming smartphone. “Don’t hold it like that!” “The screen is fine. People can just stay inside.” “I just think the phone is fragile.”

Nokia’s success hinges on the success of of the Lumia 900. The phone has a good amount of buzz surrounding it. Besides the Galaxy Note, the Lumia 900 will be the largest phone launch so far of 2012 — an impressive feat considering it’s a Windows Phone. The 900 is priced very aggressively at $99. It packs a very impressive screen and great battery life into a durable and attractive casing. But best yet, Windows Phone has finally matured into a platform even hardcore smartphone addicts can finally use as a daily driver. The 900 might be my next phone.

This latest marketing stunt will hopefully just be the first of many campaigns. If Windows Phone and Nokia is to succeed, it needs a strong and direct message.


Company: Nokia
Website: nokia.com
Launch Date: 1865
IPO: August 7, 1994, NYSE:NOK

NOKIA is a Finnish multinational communications corporation. It is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries. They make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Nokia is the owner of Symbian operation system and partially owns MeeGo operating system.

→ Learn more
Tags: